The International Schools Review Forum

Hello all,

Just wondering if anyone has any recent experience with Canadian International School (CIS) - Vietnam? The last and only review was in 2010 and it wasn't that great.

Thank you,

Diane
Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT)

Still not that great. The only top tier IS in Vietnam is UNIS in Hanoi. BIS in HCMC is a solid first tier school. Everything else either suffers from continual problems, is just how the school is run (like a company), or is "new".

"The only top tier IS in Vietnam is UNIS in Hanoi. Pearl in HCMC is a solid second tier school. Everything else either suffers from continual problems, is just how the school is run, or is "new"."

Saigon South is a really good school - well managed, well resourced and one of those rare "for-profits" that isn't really "for-profit".

I have friends at Saigon South - reliable people - and they like it. I second Walter's opinion :-)

[quote="PsyGuy"]Still not that great. The only top tier IS in Vietnam is UNIS in Hanoi. Pearl in HCMC is a solid second tier school. Everything else either suffers from continual problems, is just how the school is run, or is "new".[/quote]

Don't want to change the subject (too much), but have you heard anything about Vietnam - Australia International School? I see they're advertising, and 'preparing' to be accredited via CIS, but can't tell if they're accredited at the moment.

Australian International School in Saigon has developed a good reputation among parents in town for their elementary program. International School of Saigon Pearl is a relatively new school and is currently being assisted in some way by the Cognita Group that is also managing International School of Ho Chi Minh City. All of these school are for profit schools. Saigon South is a proprietary school, owned by Phu My Hung Corporation, but is not a profit generating center for the corporation.

Saigon South is a non-Profit school, only because it cannot make a profit.

PMH hae had enough and are sending in Cognita to turn it around.

Other good schools are BIS but not BVIS and that is about it. RISS is a nightmare that seems to be ready to implode, they have constant witch-hunts to anybody who speaks out.

"PMH hae had enough and are sending in Cognita to turn it around."

Really? When is this supposedly happening? Goodbye SSIS if Cognita does an ISHMC to it.

What about ACG? Any good?

"What about ACG? Any good?"

Merging with the Australian school next academic year.

One post said BIS was good but to avoid BVIS. They both appear to be run by the same people. Can anyone tell me what the difference is?

I dont agree on South, when your a for profit, your making a statement that money comes first. For profit schools can be well managed, but when issues arise, the solution that realizes the better profit for ownership is whats going to be decided.

BIS, is the actual British School. BVIS is a vietnamese school with a British curriculum. I would also add BIS to my list of good schools, and would say they are the top school in HCMC. I didnt include it in my original response since the OP stated they were a canadian teacher, they wouldnt be an attractive candidate for a a british school.

Annie T, don't know where you got your information from about Cognita having anything to do with SSIS, but it's false. Time will bear this out.

I said as much in a previous post, but if you're going to list Saigon Pearl as a solid tier two, then you might as well throw in ISHCMC and American Academy. All three schools are owned by the same company and managed by the same people. And based on what I've heard from several teachers currently working at those schools, it seems to be turning around and going in a good direction after a massive upheaval. So it may be something to consider.

To PsyGuy,

Are BVIS and BIS both run by the same people even though they have different students? Also is it worth taking a job at BVIS with the hope of transfering to BIS at some point. I'm not Canadian but a British teacher.